Alternative Dispute Resolution Series: Corps of Engineers Uses Mediation toSettle Hydropower Dispute

摘要

Conflicts over the operation of dams and reservoirs, and their impacts ondownstream land use and ecology, have increased dramatically over the last few years. Facility operators often find themselves in the middle between conservation, flood control, recreation, landowner and hydropower interests, with entrenched positions and antagonistic relations. Such was the case with parties concerned about the operation of Harry S Truman Dam and Reservoir, the largest flood control structure in Missouri, with a storage capacity of more than five million acre feet of water. In the fall of 1988, the Corps of Engineers initiated a mediation effort involving the operation of this Dam and Reservoir which led to the resolution of serious longstanding issues in dispute. The analysis will cover the following topics: The developmental history of the dispute and alternative dispute resolution; the selection of mediation as an appropriate procedure to address the conflict; the identification, selection and entry of the mediator; intervention strategy; and a description of the process and meetings; post-mediation negotiations; and a discussion of why the parties settled.